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City Council bans all outdoor water usage

About 250,000 people in Pasadena, Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta will face a severe water shortage for the rest of the month while a major pipeline is being replaced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, MWD.

The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 28 to declare a Level 4 water shortage, which calls for banning any outdoor usage of water, including washing cars and watering lawns.

“Even though this temporary cut in our supply is severe, we are confident Pasadena will once again rise to the challenge and cut back on daily water use, so that we all have enough water for drinking and vital indoor uses,” Phyllis Currie, Pasadena Water and Power general manager, said in a prepared statement.

Residents are also being asked to reduce shower times to five minutes and to not leave water running when washing dishes, brushing teeth or shaving. Officials are encouraging people to only run full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.

According to Nina Jazmadarian, general manager of Foothill Municipal Water District, which serves La Cañada Flintridge, portions of Glendale and Altadena, Montrose and La Crescenta, some local agencies will access groundwater, stored reservoir supplies and other sources to meet retail demands during the shutdown. At least 40 percent of Pasadena’s daily water comes from the pipeline that is being shut down, according to Pasadena Public Information Officer William Boyer.

The MWD regularly schedules shutdowns during the winter and early spring, when cooler temperatures lower consumer usage of water, to complete inspections and perform maintenance. “They are telling people to take this seriously and fill up some jugs of water before the shortage begins,” Boyer told the Weekly. “People will be out there driving around to help educate people during the shortage.”

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Comments

And all the while, the Tunnel Water that runs down the flood control channel and that could be used to fill the lakes on the Brookside Golf Course, continues to run straight into the ocean. This is good stewardship of scarce resources?

posted by Vivavilla on 2/21/13 @ 04:07 p.m.

“People will be out there driving around to help educate people during the shortage.”